Judge Calls New Election In Framingham District 3 Race

FRAMINGHAM, MA —A Middlesex Superior Court judge on Tuesday made a pivotal ruling in a tied Framingham City Council election recount, deducting two ballots from challenger Mary-Kate Feeney, but also ordering a new special election.

The path to Tuesday's ruling began on Nov. 2, when incumbent District 3 Councilor Adam Steiner appeared to win the race by two votes, 997 to 995. Feeney asked for a recount, which resulted in two new ballots for her on Nov. 16 — and an unprecedented tie, and technically a "failure to elect" per state law.

Steiner then filed a lawsuit asking a judge to examine the two new ballots, arguing the marks for Feeney were too faint to count. After reviewing the ballots on Monday and accompanying case law, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Christopher Barry-Smith found that the markings on the ballots — which came from Precincts 4 and 7 — were likely not votes for Feeney.

"The Precinct 4 ballot correctly ... fills in the oval for a mayor candidate and a school committee candidate. But next to Feeney's name in the District 3 race, the oval contains a single point of a felt-tip pen, within the oval. Likewise, the Precinct 7 ballot correctly ... fills in the oval for a mayor candidate. But next to Feeney's name in the District 3 race, the oval contains a single point of a felt-tip pen, within the oval," he wrote in the Tuesday ruling.

The two ballots were read as blank in the District 3 race by the machines that Framingham uses to count votes. At the Nov. 16 recount, the Framingham Board of Registrars of Voters tied in its decision over whether to count the two ballots. Volunteer counters ultimately gave the votes to Feeney.

"Those two ballots instead should have been counted as blank with respect to the District 3 race," Barry-Smith wrote in an opinion published Tuesday afternoon. "Accordingly, the correct vote count following the recount was 997 votes for Steiner and 995 votes for Feeney."

But at Monday's hearing, Feeney raised two "irregularities" about voting District 3 race, which convinced Barry-Smith to order a special election.

The first irregularity was an absentee ballot that was not signed by the voter. The second was a woman who tried to vote, but was told by a poll worker that she had already voted. She filled out a provisional ballot disputing that she had already voted, although it was ultimately not counted in the District 3 race.

"Given the two-vote margin in this election, I conclude that those two irregularities, in the unique circumstances of this election, place in doubt the result of the election, and warrant a new election as to the District 3 councilor race," Barry-Smith wrote.

Barry-Smith set a hearing for Wednesday at noon to set the terms of the special election. The Framingham City Council last month set a date of Dec. 28, but Steiner's attorneys have said that date might reduce voter turnout because it falls between two major holidays.

In a statement Tuesday, Feeney hailed the news of a special election, but did not touch on the two ballots that were subtracted by the judge.

"I am pleased our judiciary ruled that the decision of who is the next District 3 Councilor lies with the people of District 3," she said. "While a special runoff election during the holiday season is not ideal, I promise you I will use every moment to spread my message of change, reach every voter and get out the vote on Election Day."

Framingham is set to put new voting district boundaries in place on Jan. 1, which would mean any new District 3 election would not have the same voting makeup as it did on Nov. 2. City Solicitor Chris Petrini has said the court could order District 3 to remain the same until after a special election.